LEA & Perrins Worcestershire sauce has been given a ringing endorsement by a senior Government minister.

Leader of the House of Commons, Peter Hain, appealed for people to keep buying the "wonderful" Worcester-made sauce amid a "national health scare surrounding a rival brand".

Mr Hain's support for Lea & Perrins comes as supermarkets are clearing their shelves of Crosse & Blackwell's Worcester sauce, which was discovered last week to contain a cancer-causing dye.

Worcester MP Michael Foster has been promoting awareness of the difference between the two brands amid fears that Lea & Perrins could lose custom.

Mr Foster raised the issue in the Commons yesterday, asking Mr Hain if he had chance to sign his Early Day Motion urging MPs to continue using Lea & Perrins.

He added: "It distinguishes between the original Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, which is the product that consumers are most likely to see on the shelves in the shops, and the other brand, which is subject to the food scare."

Mr Hain replied: "Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is wonderful, and it is not contaminated by that dye.

"I support him in encouraging everybody to buy Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, which is made in his constituency, in the knowledge that it is perfectly safe and incredibly wholesome."

Mr Foster's motion has been given cross-party backing. Seventeen MPs, including Tories such as Mid-Worcestershire's Peter Luff, signed the motion.